Spirit trade Trocheck to Plymouth for Bratina

Published 5:00 am, Friday, January 11, 2013

The Saginaw Spirit traded forward and captain Vince Trocheck to the Plymouth Whalers on Friday morning, shortly before the Ontario Hockey League trade deadline.

In exchange, Saginaw acquired forward Zach Bratina, along with second- and third-round picks in the 2015 OHL Priority Selection, and a third-round pick in 2016.

Bratina, who just turned 17, was the Whalers’ first-round pick in the 2012 OHL Priority Selection and the 19th pick overall. He spent last season at the midget level with the Central Ontario Wolves, where he recorded 22 goals and 21 assists in 30 games. This season, Bratina has four goals and four assists in 37 games.

Trocheck, 19 and a Florida Panthers’ prospect, had spent his entire OHL career in Saginaw and is second in franchise career points with 240, trailing Ryan McDonough’s 247. Trocheck is also the franchise’s all-time leader in assists with 146.

This season, Trocheck has 24 goals and 26 assists in 35 games.

In the wake of the trade, Garret Ross has been promoted from assistant captain to captain for the Spirit. Justin Kea has been promoted to assistant captain, joining Eric Locke and Steven Strong in that role.

On the ice, the Spirit will host OHL rookie scoring leader Connor McDavid and the Erie Otters tonight and the league leading London Knights on Saturday, both at 7:11 p.m. Saturday’s contest will be the Spirit’s Star Wars Night, with characters from the film series on hand to interact with fans.